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Mediterranean Salt Flat
The '''Mediterranean Salt Flat' is a very large salt flat or salt pan covering almost the entirety of the Mediterranean Basin, which evaporated after becoming landlocked due to continental drift and falling sea levels, in 5 million AD. A number of "islands," the highlands of what were once true islands, dot the salt flat, as do limestone karst plateaus. Most life in the region is to be found on these islands, due to the inhospitable conditions on the salt flat itself. Life .]] Though there are a few hypersaline lakes on the flat, the water is far too salty to support fish or complex life, and would be fatal if ingested. All that lives in these lakes are algae and bacteria which can feed on the salty chemical soup, and the shores support thick clouds of brineflies which feed on the algae and bacteria. Little life exists on the surface of the salt flat itself, though the salt-loving bacteria does thrive there, staining the surface red in places. One of the few animals to exist out on the salt is a lizard, the cryptile, which is able to effectively camouflage its white body against the salt. Most life in the Mediterranean, including animals, exists on the karst plateaus and dry island mountains, where conditions are less harsh. In the highlands of the rocky karst plateaus, soil particles blown from the continental interior settle in the grykes and allow plants, such as grasses and hazel trees, to take root. Clumps of grass grow on the flat clints, and gnarled trees emerge from the depths of the grykes, their roots stretching down tens of metres to find water tables. Animals such as scrofas are attracted to the highlands by the promise of food, and predators in turn inhabit the area, such as birds of prey and the gryke-dwelling gryken. Gallery FIW 1x3 More salt.png FIW 1x3 Brine lake shore.png FIW 1x3 Salt and karst.png FIW 1x3 Karst.png FIW 1x3 Gryke.png Behind the scenes In "The Vanished Sea," the limestone karst plateaus on the salt flat were filmed at Ingleborough National Nature Reserve, which is noted for its "''great expanse of limestone pavement," in the United Kingdom. The real limestone plateaus there are known as "White Scars" and "Twistleton Scars". Notes *The Mediterranean Salt Flat and the North American Desert are the only ecoregions which, alongside their organisms, have never appeared in any The Future Is Wild spinoffs. The manga adaptation and the animated series depict all the other regions and organisms between them. *The Mediterranean Basin was heavily dessicated and evaporated 5 million years ago, during the Messinian salinity crisis of the Miocene, when much of it dried up in only a thousand years after it was cut off from the Atlantic Ocean. List of appearances Which is your favourite organism of the ? Cryptile Scrofa Gryken * The Future Is Wild **1x01. Welcome to the Future **1x03. The Vanished Sea **''The Future Is Wild'' (US) *''The Future Is Wild: A Natural History of the Future'' *''The Future Is Wild'' (fulldome show) *''The Future Is Wild: The Living Book'' Navigation Category:Ecoregions Category:Ecoregions of 5 million AD Category:5 million AD